Standards and Best Practices for Florida Academic Libraries

Discovery: Libraries enable users to discover information in all formats through effective use of technology and organization of knowledge.

4.1 The library organizes information for effective discovery and access.

4.2 The library integrates library resource access into institutional web and other information portals.

4.3 The library develops resource guides to provide guidance and multiple points of entry to information.

4.4 The library creates and maintains interfaces and system architectures that include all resources and facilitates access from preferred user starting points.

4.5 The library has technological infrastructure that supports changing modes of information and resource discovery.

4.6 The library provides one-on-one assistance through multiple platforms to help users find information.

"The Standards include performance indicators, which are intentionally library-centric. Outcomes, however, should be user-centric, preferably focusing on a specific population and articulating specifically what the user is able to do as an outcome of the performance indicator. "
- ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education

Performance Indicator 4.4 The library creates and maintains interfaces and system architectures that include all resources and facilitates access from preferred user starting points.

Sample Outcomes

• Faculty and students can access collections for educational and research needs from all user locations.
• Users choose the library web interface as one of the first steps in their finding activities.
• Users characterize the library interface as easy to find and intuitive to navigate.
• Users integrate library interfaces and architectures into their daily search behaviors.
• Users choose library interfaces to find materials for their information needs.
• Users judge integration of library interfaces and resources found through the library as one reason for their success.

Performance Indicator 4.6 The library provides one-on-one assistance through multiple platforms to help users find information.

Sample Outcomes

• Users enhance their research skills through one-on-one consultation with librarians.
• Users expand the types of sources (e.g., multiple formats—books, journals, primary sources, etc.) consulted when doing research as a result of a one-on-one consultation with librarians.
• Users readily transfer the skills learned through one-on-one consultation with a librarian to other research contexts.

"Many academic institutions use benchmarks to identify their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to similar institutions. For example, benchmarking can be used to demonstrate whether an institution or its library is funded or staffed at levels comparable to similar institutions in a geographic area, with a similar enrollment, or with other related characteristics."
- ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education

Principle 4: Discovery

• Number of reference questions (transactions). E.g.: By week. By means of asking. By length of time to answer the question.
• Ratio of reference transactions to student enrollment. E.g.: Per full-time student. Per part-time student.
• Local use of online guides

All ACRL Standards information taken from:

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2018). Standards for libraries in higher education.

       Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/standards/slhe.pdf